A substance made from Spirulina, a type of blue-green algae. It is a foodstuff used as natural green or blue dyes approved by the FDA.
More precisely it is a cyanobacteria with the Latin name Arthrospira platensis. The algae thrive in subtropical alkaline lakes with temperatures above 35° C. (95° F.)
Spirulina concentrate is classified as a food and therefore does not have an E-number. Spirulina is marketed as a popular health food and so-called superfood due to its content of, among other things, vitamins, minerals, polysaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids and proteins.
Blue-green algae contain, as the name suggests, both green and blue dyes. The green color comes from chlorophyll, and the blue color comes an extraction of the spirulina which concentrates the substance phycocyanin. In foods and supplements, it is used as a natural dye and is available both as a green and blue powder and as a blue viscous liquid.
The blue spirulina powder used by Pharma Nord is the only natural blue dye approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, FDA. It is checked for impurities.
